Due to the Necessity for Resources in the Medical Spa and Aesthetic Industry, AmSpa Adds OSHA and HIPAA Compliance Partners to Assist Members
Chicago, Illinois (PRWEB) June 30, 2014 -- Per the American Med Spa Association (AmSpa), considering the recent surge in popularity of medical spas, it will not be long before OSHA begins making their presence known and HIPAA violations may become a thing of the present. If a medical spa is not prepared, the results can be financially devastating.
Per Steve Wilder of Sorensen, Wilder & Associates who presented on OSHA compliance within a medical spa setting at AmSpa’s Southeastern Regional Workshop, “It only takes one OSHA visit to shut your medical spa down. There are critical programs needed within a medical spa setting to remain OSHA complaint, which most medical spas are not even aware of. If a med spa is to be found non-compliant it to expect payment penalties." Most penalties start at around $1,500 per violation, the law allows them to start as high as $7,500 per violation and repeat violations can start at $75,000.
Sorensen, Wilder & Associates is about to release an OSHA self-assessment tool that Steve created for the medical spa industry. Medical spas can complete the assessment which will then be scored by each section and returned with a report that indicates where they are complaint and where they need additional resources in place. AmSpa members will have access to the assessment tool at discounted rates.
Besides OSHA compliance, there is also a great deal of gray area as to whether medical spas would not be covered under HIPAA. “In fact, it may even be likely," says Mike Sacopulos of Medical Risk Institute. “This bit of news is typically greeted with great celebration, until we look deeper as most of the HIPAA requirements as to patient privacy are already in place via state laws.”
Although much of the consumer reporting of data breaches applies outside of HIPAA, HIPAA can and is used to demonstrate the appropriate standards of safeguarding patient information. Med Spas need to be protecting patient identification and other areas of medicine and not all know about the appropriate means in which to do so. Per Mike, “A med spa needs to substantially comply with HIPAA’s requirements whether they are officially covered by it or not.” Medical Risk Institute is a firm formed exclusively to provide proactive counsel to the healthcare community to help providers understand where liability risks originate and reduce or remove these risks.
As the voice of the med spa industry, the American Medical Spa Association provides comprehensive resources to encourage their members to work towards and maintain a high level of medical professionalism. As the medical spa industry expands nationally and globally, medical spa owners are striving to minimize risk so they can focus on providing excellent client service. One crucial element to becoming a successful medical spa is ensuring that they operate and provide services in compliance with their state laws.
For more information about AmSpa's HIPAA and OSHA Compliance partners, or membership - please call (312) 981-0993
Gina Meyer-Shaffer, American Med Spa Association, http://www.americanmedspa.org, +1 312-981-0993, [email protected]
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